Proverbs 4.2 Study at Moore's, OCT 26 at 7PM

Hello everyone. It has been great to return to the study and attend regularly. I have missed you all and I am so glad to be spending time with you all again.

This Friday I will be teaching the second half of Proverbs 4. We will be going over verses 20-27. I have included the questions here to help assist you in your study.

I want to remind you all again, that no matter how good the teacher is, there is no substitute for doing the reading and study yourself. The two go hand in hand. If you are able to do the study before hand, then we, as a group, can get much further and in-depth in our discussion. If you don't have time to do the entire study, just do what you can. Anything is better than nothing.

Proverbs 4.2

:20 -- My son, be attentive to my words;
        incline your ear to my sayings. 

– Have you seen this expression elsewhere in Proverbs 4? What might that repeated pattern indicate? How would you paraphrase this expression?

:21 -- Let them not escape from your sight;
        keep them within your heart.

–  Can you think of a real world example where you might use this expression? Why, in your example, would you not want the thing or person to escape from your sight?

– How can we work to keep God's commands in our heart? 

-- Read Deut 30:14. Why is the word in your mouth and heart?

– Matt 6:22 What does it mean that the eye is the lamp of the body? What does this tell us about what we look at?

:22  -- For they are life to those who find them,
        and healing to all their flesh.

– How does doing God's commands bring healing and refreshment?

:23  -- Keep your heart with all vigilance,
        for from it flow the springs of life.

– What does it mean to keep your heart? How do you do this?

– What is a spring? What is different about a spring and other water bodies like river, lake, etc.?

:24 -- Put away from you crooked speech,
        and put devious talk far from you.

Solomon goes directly from the heart in verse 23 to speech in verse 24 – What does speech have to do with the heart? Can you think of any verses that deal with this?

– If crooked speech is coming out, what does this tell us about our heart?

–What does vs 24 mean practically?

– James 4:1-2. If we are fighting, what does this tell us about ourselves and our desires?

:25  -- Let your eyes look directly forward,
        and your gaze be straight before you.

– If you are on the path of wisdom, what does looking directly forward mean? What does this have to do with our hearts? Our speech? What does wisdom from above look like? Can you think of a verse that deals with this?

:26 -- Ponder the path of your feet;
        then all your ways will be sure.

– If you are literally on a path, what might it mean to ponder the path of your feet? This verse calls us to ponder what? Is this a specific or general path?

:27 -- Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
        turn your foot away from evil. 

– Turning to the left or right is equated with what? So righteousness is what? Can activities that are good lead us astray?  Can you think of any?

Notes from Children-In-Study discussion

Here are the general guidelines for Children we discussed.

- Parents should get their children food. (i.e. children should not be getting their own food)
- Children should never be running or yelling or making loud noises.
- Children should never be rummaging through drawers and/or exploring rooms in the host home.
- On study nights, children should go to sleep around 8-8:30PM, and on fellowship nights parents might opt to have an activity for their children at this time.
     - The lesson will wait for 5-10 minutes or so while the children are put to bed.
     - If the parents opt to have an activity, the children should be supervised.
     - If the children stay up, the parents should make sure they do not disrupt the study.
- Parents are always responsible for, and the authority over their children. We have all agreed that we, as parents, would appreciate gentle reminders to our children if they are acting in a way that is inappropriate. We can't see everything and we trust the others in the study to help when they see something. If you see something that doesn't seem right, always feel free to tell the parents.

Other notes we discussed:

- Please communicate with the host home if you will be needing blankets, pack&play, and/or other things.
- Please also communicate how many kids will be going down, so the house can plan sleeping arrangements.
- Please help clean up and re-order the house before you leave so that the host isn't left with a mess and a lot of work.

Thank you all for your thoughts and ideas. It is great to be a part of a bible study where everyone is actively involved in improving things and helping to make things run smoothly. What a blessing our group has been to us and it is a joy to be getting to know you all better and better as time passes.

Jacob

Bible Study Fellowship Night this Friday Oct 19 2012 , 7pm

Greetings brothers and sisters of Doulos Noho study.  This friday, the Hacketts will be hosting a fellowship night.  Here is the info direct from the Hacketts themselves:

Please join us at the Hackett residence on Friday, October 19 at 7:00pm, for a kick off of the fall season with soup/chili and festive num nums under the stars.  The forecast is actually for fall temperatures, so bring something warm to wear just in case.  After the food, we will have a time of worship in song, prayer and a testimony.  We will also be celebrating the birthdays of Morgan Hughes and Emily Hackett.  Our room will be available for sleeping kids (bring your pack & play – we have blankies). 

Please reply ASAP if you are planning on coming (for food planning purposes).  Also, if you are able to sign up for something, please sign your name next to the item you will bring and “reply all,” so we can all see what else is needed.  Feel free to bring something that’s not on the list.  We look forward to a great evening of fellowship.

Bible Study @ the Grosjeans this coming Friday October 12th, 7pm

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Dear fellow douloi of the Noho Study

Again, we are looking forward to spend time together, build each other up in the faith and study the Word of God.  There are two things we would like to work through this coming Friday.

First, we will discuss the issue with the children and hope to get your feedback on what we announced before.

Second, if time permits, we are also going to continue our study in 1John.  I would like to change the format a little and make it much more interactive then before.  Please read through 1John chapter 1 and chapter 2:1-2.  We are going to focus on 2:1-2, although I would like to set the context again and see what you still remember.

In order to prepare yourself for the Study please work through the following questions (we will work through these together too):

 (VERSE 1)

1.     John is addressing his recipients with “my little children”, this is another word then the usual for “child” in Greek. It means little child, small child… why is he addressing them in this way?

2.     What are “these things”?

3.     What does the wording “so that” indicate, and why will it have this effect?
4.   Why is he saying: “if anyone does sin”? (…this stands for a subjunctive mood, indicating in this context a more probable future event… “it may happen, more likely, more certainly”…)   

5.     Is this not a contradiction to what he said in 1:5-7?

6.     “We have” is continual action in the Greek “we are continually having”, what is the significance of this?

7.     How is Christ further described and what is the significance of the three descriptions found in this verse?

(VERSE 2)

1.     Try to find out what “propitiation” (the English term; we will expand a little on the Greek term…) means (maybe a Lexicon or Dictionary or Google it… ;-)).

2.     Which theological debate comes to your mind by looking at the rest of the verse? What does it seem to teach?

3.     Related to question 2, what is the “whole world” in the context of 1John?

4.     Against the backdrop of Gnosticism, why do you think did John bring this idea of “Christ being the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world” up?

I am looking forward to a great time of studying God’s Word together…

Blessings and see you soon…

Pascal

Fellowship Night October 5 2012

Hello dear saints of Doulos Noho. Hope you are all well and growing in the grace of our Lord this week.  We will be having fellowship night at Roderick Hurts place this week. Parking is limited so you may want to carpool if possible. Guests will need to park across the street in the parking lot in from of the gym or find street parking.


Please email doulosnorthhollywood@gmail.com or call if you need directions.

Proverbs 4 Study at the Moore's Friday Sept 28th

This Friday we will look at Proverbs 4. Please read through the text several times before the study. Below are the questions to ponder as you read through the text. As usual, we will try to keep the lesson practical and applicable to our lives. If you have questions, please let me know before hand or during the study. Thanks and I'll see you all soon, LORD willing.

Intro questions: What similarities are there in the language of 4:1; 4:10; and 4:20? What might this indicate about the structure of the Chapter?

Who is talking in these verses? Who is the audience?

Vs. 1-2 -  What is the picture presented here? What image comes to mind when you read these verses?
Vs. 3 - What is the picture presented here? When seen in connection with vs 1, what pattern is represented?
Vs. 4 - What comes to mind when you hear, "hold fast?" What are some actions associated with "hold fast?" How might you hold fast to words?
Vs. 5 - What are the commands here? What does this indicate of what our tendency might be?
Vs. 6 - What are the commands here? What are the promises?
Vs. 7 - Is this a Catch-22? How can you get Wisdom, if to get it, you need it? What might this tell us about the nature of Wisdom? To help answer that question, consider two things, one in chapter 2 what was Wisdom regularly paralleled with or compared with, and two, consider how the phrase "beginning of..." might contribute to your understanding of the nature of Wisdom. e.g. is Wisdom a thing to gain or grasp? If not, what is it best compared to?

We will work through verses 10-19 in greater detail during the lesson. But, as a preview, look at each verse and find the commands. Then see what principle can be drawn from that command, then ask yourself how that principle might apply to you. We will spend most of our time in verses 10-19 talking through the application of these verses, so please come prepared to share and talk.

Jacob

Fellowship Night at the Acee's on Friday September 21st

Hello brothers and sisters of Doulos Noho.  Hope you are all well and growing in the knowledge of the Lord this week.  Wanted to let you all know that we will be having a fellowship night at the Acee's place.  Parking is limited so you may want to carpool if possible.  Please email or call if you need directions.

We look forward to a time of fellowship, building one another up, music, and prayer.

Blessings,
Chris